Three years after his maiden Dakar success, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/ Michelin) finished on top again to earn Michelin’s 36th victory on the cross-country classic, as well as KTM’s 18th on the trot in association with the French tyre firm. The Australian finished clear of his team-mate and last year’s victor Matthias Walkner, while Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/Michelin) made it an all-KTM/Michelin top three.

After winning last season’s visit to Marrakech, Mahindra Racing finished on top again this time around thanks to Jérôme d’Ambrosio who was joined on the podium by Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns and Sam Bird. Antonio Felix da Costa tangled late in the race with his BMW I Andretti Motorsport team-mate while leading, and defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) span at the race’s first turn.

FIA WEC - Toyota and Michelin win in rainy Shanghai

FIA WRC - Sixth WRC title for Ogier and Toyota’s fourth, all with Michelin

The 2018 Rally Australia saw Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claim their sixth Drivers’ world title and their second with Ford/Michelin. Jari-Matti Latvala earned Toyota Gazoo Racing’s 50th world class victory to make sure of the Manufacturers’ crown with Michelin.

WRC launches 2018 campaign in Birmingham

The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was given an official send-off today at Autosport International which is taking place this weekend at Birmingham’s NEC in England. The presentation was attended by all the factory crews and their Michelin-equipped cars.

Autosport International, the annual motorsport exhibition held in Birmingham, England, was chosen as the venue to launch this year’s FIA WRC on Thursday, January 11, two weeks before competitive action is due to kick off at the upcoming Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The WRC teams all brought along their latest challengers and their respective crews unveiled the 2018-spec Hyundai i20 Coupé WRC, Toyota Yaris WRC, Citroën C3 WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC which will all compete on Michelin rubber this season.

“Michelin is involved in a number of world class motorsport programmes,” said Michelin Motorsport Director Pascal Couasnon, “but only the WRC allows us to work on the performance, durability and versatility of our tyres simultaneously due to the huge variety of conditions it throws at competitors and the restrictions in place regarding the number of tyres that may be used on each event. The technologies we develop for the WRC feed directly into our road tyres because our customers are looking for the very same strengths.”

The championship’s promoter Oliver Ciesla recalled Michelin’s position as the WRC’s number one tyre manufacturer: “Michelin isn’t just a technical partner to the WRC, it is also a commercial partner which invests significantly in the sport.” The German also used the show to announce that all stages will be broadcast live on WRC+ from this season.

The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship is scheduled to start in Monaco’s glamorous Place du Casino on Thursday, January 25, and will finish in Coffs Harbour, on Australia’s east coast, on Sunday, December 18.

Round 1 of the 2018/2019 Formula E Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was won by Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver was joined on the podium by Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah/Michelin) and Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing/Michelin).

A number of key decisions were taken at the FIA World Council meeting that was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 5. Many of them referred to some of the global championships in which Michelin is active, namely the WEC, WRC and Formula E.

After claiming the season’s opener in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso concluded the 2018 MotoGPTM World Championship with victory in Valencia. The Italian was unfazed when the race was red flagged due to heavy rain and he went on to finish clear of Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR/Michelin) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing/Michelin).